Aurélie Champvert is the Executive Director of Alliance Française de La Nouvelle-Orléans. The mission of Alliance Française is to promote knowledge and appreciation of the French language and Francophone cultures, and to encourage friendship and collaboration with the French-speaking world. Alliance Française was founded in 1883; a little over a century later, in 1984, the New Orleans chapter opened. Aurélie notes that we should not be intimidated about learning to speak French; the language is not as difficult as many people believe. She explains that Alliance Française is much more than simply a place to go to learn the French language. The Alliance offers cultural activities for both adults and children, and has a comprehensive library and online resources, as well. In this podcast, Aurélie makes a big announcement about an upcoming croissant competition.